Talking Bay 94: Star Wars Interviews

This is an actual dream come true: today we're talking to Lorne Peterson , visual effects artist and modeler for  Industrial Light & Magic. Working on the first six  Star Wars  films, Lorne goes through his experience building escape pods out of paint cans, manning Guatemalan outpost towers made out of trash cans and sourcing Tauntaun fur (which you have to hear to believe). And I am legitimately...

SVP, Executive Creative Director and Head of ILM , Rob Bredow  was also the co-producer of SOLO: A Star Wars Story , working side-by-side with Ron Howard to bring the story (and its visual effects to life).  We go through it all: L3-37 , working with Tippett Studios with the new Dejarik pieces and, of course, the breath-taking in-camera work for hyperspace and more. We discuss his previous work wi...

Marc Thorpe  was an ILM Model Maker for movies like The Empire Strikes Back , Return of the Jedi and the Indiana Jones Trilogy. We go through a quick deep dive of his career, including his work on LucasToys and the creation of Robot Wars. He was a true delight to talk to and such a gracious teller of stories and experiences. I really enjoyed my conversation with him, especially learning what exact...

Christian Alzmann 's unique art style and incredible design work has influenced the looks of  The Force Awakens , Rogue One  and even Star Wars:   Rebels.  From BB-8 to Maz Kanata, we explore the path to the big screen, including the stories behind the haunting "evil" Luke imagery and "The Jedi Killer". Bust open your copy of  The Art of The Force Awakens  by Phil Szostak, because we went through...

"Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something." No need to speak Hovitos, Mr. Freeman gave some incredible insight into filming the greatest adventure movie of all time: Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as his time on set for Young Indiana Jones and Hot Fuzz.  Please check out the incredible work he is currently doing in Uganda (with the UK Friends of Healing Focus), and donate...

Anthony Forrest played two different key roles in the original  Star Wars. As a Sandtrooper  on Mos Eisley , he was the first on-screen recipient of a Jedi mind trick. And, in the legendary Anchorhead deleted scenes, he stood out next to Biggs and Luke, as Fixer , to look to a potential space battle. We talk about a lot, including his passion for music, as well as relationship with the fandom and...

"Die wanna wanga?" Michael Carter portrayed the Major Domo of Jabba the Hutt ... the creepy, great and wonderful Twi'lek: Bib Fortuna . Live from Madness Comics in Plano, TX, we got to talk to him all about working with Richard Marquand on the set of  Return of the Jedi . In addition to his work on Star Wars , I couldn't help but ask him about his iconic scene in John Landis' American Werewolf in...

Craig Miller was the Director of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm from 1977-1980. As you might be able to guess, there was a lot going on in the early Star Wars fandom during that time, from churning rumors in Starlog to creating the Fan Club and Bantha Tracks to crashing Illinois 800 numbers. Mr. Miller has some great stories about what it was like to market this brand new sci fi movie called … Star W...

Howie Weed was a model maker and effects artist on both the Star Wars Special Editions and the Prequels, as well as designing and performing as the Wampa and various Cantina aliens. But, this is our first episode of SEASON 2 ... so of course we don't just  talk about Star Wars ...  we hear his incredible stories from working on  Captain EO , Ghostbusters 2 , The Ewok Adventure. And with stories ab...

Filming at Elstree Studios in 1976 was a challenge. From falling asleep on the Cantina set as Saurin , to bumping his head on the Death Star as the infamous Stormtrooper , Mr. Goode is full of great stories and great insight.  To listen to Mr. Goode's great song about, well, bumping his head, definitely check it out on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/who-was-the-stormtrooper-who-banged-...

Today is a very rare, very wonderful interview with Miki Herman , initially assistant to George Lucas, then serving as production coordinator on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , going on to become the executive producer for the Ewoks and Droids animated series. We go through her entire time working for the early days of  Lucasfilm , including being on set for the Holiday Special  (...

Kevin Rubio is the father of the Star Wars Fan Film and director of TROOPS , creator of Tag and Bink , as well as writer for  The Clone Wars . He's really done it all. Diving into his long career, we discuss the inspiration behind TROOPS , just how involved George Lucas was in The Clone Wars and, of course, his reaction to Tag and Bink becoming canon in Solo . Definitely follow Kevin on Twitter, @...

Today we're LIVE and talking to Tim Rose , an incredibly talented puppeteer who brought some of my favorite Star Wars  characters to life, including  Admiral Ackbar ,  Salacious B. Crumb and  Sy Snootles.   If you want to hear stories about Salacious' personality, Harrison Ford's ... temper on set, or his thoughts on Ackbar's return in  The Force Awakens  and  The Last Jedi , this is the podcast f...

Spencer Wilding  helped bring Darth Vader to life for Rogue One  ... and we talk to him LIVE! In addition to his roles in Guardians of the Galaxy  (Mean Guard), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  (Lupin as Werewolf) and Game of Thrones (one of the original White Walkers), Mr. Wilding has been a huge part of some of the biggest movies ever, including donning the helmet of everyone's favorite...

Now for something a little different: a double feature of two "vintage" interviews recorded LIVE earlier this year. First up, we're talking to David Ankrum , voice of  Wedge Antilles , as well as various voices in  Rogue One.   The second interview of the day is with Mark Dodson , the man responsible for the most iconic laugh in the galaxy:  Salacious Crumb.  If you love stories about Ben Burtt an...

Simon J. Williamson is the performer for Max Rebo and many other iconic characters, including principal Gamorrean Guard, a Mon Cal Officer and even the blinks of Nien Nunb in Return of the Jedi . If you've ever listened to this podcast before, you know how much I love the fascinating stories of the puppeteers and mime artists, especially from Jedi . And this is no exception. Really buckle up becau...

Designing the original figures and vehicles, Jim Swearingen had a huge effect on our perception of the original  Star Wars . From 1976-79, this Kenner project became Swearingen's project, witnessing portions of the film being made and even attending the first public showing. Straight from an episode of Netflix's  Toys That Made Us , Mr. Swearingen takes us through that early period, before  Star W...

A visual effects legend of the Original Trilogy, he was there from the early days of ILM to his groundbreaking work on Raiders of the Lost Ark , Poltergeist and more, it was a huge honor to dive deep into Mr. Edlund's incredible career. We really get into specifics about some of the most complicated shots from the original Star Wars , including the iconic opening shot of the Star Destroyer.  For m...

Harrison Ellenshaw painted some of the incredibly detailed background matte paintings for the first two Star Wars movies. Working side-by-side with Ralph McQuarrie on the sequel, Mr. Ellenshaw made the galaxy far, far away into something believable and beautiful. In addition to his work on the trilogy, Mr. Ellenshaw has had a varied visual effects career, including groundbreaking work on seminal c...

Greg Proops, who played Fode , one of the two heads of the Podrace announcer in The Phantom Menace , is on the show today. LIVE from the green room of the Addison Improv, he tells an incredible, hilarious story about his time in the Star Wars universe, from being cast to doing voiceover work in The Clone Wars . (There is also an anecdote that will change the way you look at Harrison Ford in Last C...

Dave Barclay  worked on both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , bringing two of the most iconic  Star Wars characters ever to life. Beginning as a sculptor working with Stuart Freeborn, Mr. Barclay was then quickly ushered into the Henson world of puppets, controlling Yoda alongside Frank Oz . Returning to the galaxy to work as Jabba 's right hand, Mr. Barclay has had a storied caree...

Today's guest,  Hal Hickel , is an Animator Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic , working on everything from  The Phantom Menace (Boss Nass and the Droidekas) and Attack of the Clones  (the Droid Factory and Battle of Geonosis) to  Rogue One , helping to pioneer the incredible effects that brought Tarkin, Leia and K-2SO to the big screen.  Mr. Hickel has had a fascinating career, from  Toy Stor...

It was a real treat talking to today's guest:  Nick Gillard , stunt coordinator for the Prequel Trilogy and father of the modern lightsaber technique. He is one of the unsung heroes of the making of these  Star Wars  movies. Mr. Gillard was so humble and so gracious, literally pulling over during a long car ride to talk to Talking Bay 94. During our short conversation, we get into a lot, from the...

Today we are talking to one of the most prolific contributors to the saga we love: Gary Whitta . Responsible for crafting the story for Rogue One , as well as numerous Star Wars: Rebels episodes, we really talk about everything he's worked on. From his short story in  From a Certain Point of View  to his latest project, transforming  The Last Jedi  into a series for Marvel Comics, Mr. Whitta tells...

In today's episode of Talking Bay 94, we're talking to one of the visitors to the actual Docking Bay 94:  Mark Austin , who donned the infamous Mandalorian armor for A New Hope: Special Edition . We start at the very beginning: talking about how playing Boba Fett is a dream come true, as well as how he got his start at Industrial Light & Magic . From the day of filming to his thoughts on the rumor...